“The zinc roofs campaign was launched as an initiative of Minister Nguema to change the living situation of low-income families that live under nipa roofs,” said Director General of Agriculture, Jose Juan Ndong Tom, on a recent interview. “In addition to the zinc roofs campaign, the Ministry has provided rural sustainable development programs, where rural communities receive technological, water development, health and education packages to improve their living situation. We give them the foundation to better run their communities.”

The nipa roofs (old roof material) in the South-Center, 119,000 and Kie-ntem, 145,000, provinces have been completely replaced with new zinc roofs. Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is working with the Wele-mzas authorities to conduct a census to determine how many roofs need to be replaced in the region. Once they gather the census, they will process the data to determine how many zinc sheets they need according to the roofs’ dimensions. Then the factory produces the zinc sheets and the installation begins.

“As part of Minister Nguema’s efforts to contribute to rural development communities, he travels with a well-equipped team that provides free medical attention to anyone to the communities,” said Director General Ndong.

Once the zinc roofs have been placed, the Ministry of Agriculture will launch a follow up project on each province to determine the conditions of the new roofs, scheduled to start 6 to 7 months after roofs have been installed. The follow up project will ensure the new roofs are working and collect any feedback the roofs’ beneficiaries provide.

After the zinc roofs campaign is completed on the fourth province, Litoral, of the continental region, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will continue the zinc roofs campaign on the islands of Bioko and Annobon to complete the Ministry’s rural development efforts on the entire West African nation.